The Independent Technical Team

Nowadays, most companies use one of two ways to work with technical specialists. The first approach assumes an external person (usually a manager) controlling everything the team does. The second approach is the opposite: the team is independent and can handle everything without external observation. I want to explain why the second approach is much better.

Simple Management

It is the main goal and the primary advantage of independent technical teams. There is no need to go deep into the team processes and internal activities. The team, as a separate unit, can handle almost everything. Some external help is needed only if it lacks experience in some area.

Obviously, such an approach saves manager's time. There is no need to participate in every team meeting and correct if something is wrong. The team members can do that themselves. Of course, such a team has to consist of experienced people that require attention neither from the administrative nor from the technical side.

But how to make an independent team?

What vs. How

If you are a manager and want your team to become an independent unit, then you should concentrate on telling the team what you want instead of providing details on how they have to do it. You need to trust your team and let them make technical decisions. This way, you can split responsibility: you can be responsible for the business part while the team is responsible for the technical part.

If you are a technical specialist then you need to understand what are the requirements, and then figure out how to do that. Ideally, you should completely eliminate the manager’s role in the internal team activities and make all the technical and maybe even business decisions only with your teammates.

No Micromanagement

Usually, the technical team is pretty happy when managers give them such freedom. It simplifies processes, decreases bureaucracy, and improves performance. However, some managers really like micromanagement, and the following advice is for them.

If you really like micromanagement and think it is a proper way of doing things, I have bad news: micromanagement does not work. Specifically, it does not work from a long-term perspective as it takes a lot of time and decreases the quality of the product. Think about the team as a black box. You are giving them requirements, they are making a product, and everything that is happening inside is out of your control.

So, the independent technical team should take care of technical tasks without the manager’s intervention in their processes. Such an approach is a win-win scenario. The manager gets what he wants with minimum effort, and the technical team can do what they do best.